Thesis opportunities of the Laboratory of Cell Biology
Here you will find all the thesis projects from the Laboratory of Cell Biology. Interested? Please contact us.
Cellular polarity and dynamics (Ketelaar Group)
In this project we aim to understand how the polarity cues provided by the microtubule cytoskeleton are transduced to the growing cell tip. We have identified several kinesin motor proteins that localize in the tip. Deletion of these kinesins causes diverse defects including a reduced responsiveness to extracellular cues and disruption of growth. Using molecular cloning, moss transformation and genotyping, we will generate lines with fluorescently tagged kinesins, markers and deletions. These lines will be used for quantitative microscopic analysis of the growth and microtubule defects using spinning disk confocal microscopy. With your help, we will be able to decipher the mechanisms that control growth directionality.
Intercellular communication via plasmodesmata (Keijzer Group)
Plant developmental instructions are often distributed among cells and organs. The direct route available to facilitate transport of such signals is via plasmodesmata. These are specialized structures that bridge neighboring plant cells and interconnect their cytoplasm. How the biology of plasmodesmata intersects with the distribution of developmental signals is still an underexplored question. We therefore want to find out how the regulated conductivity of plasmodesmata steers cells within a tissue to assume a certain role or identity. Hereby we focus on questions like: When and where are plasmodesmata conductive? What proteins facilitate this? What are the relevant cargoes? In which developmental contexts does transport matter? And do these constitute evolutionary conserved mechanisms?